GitOps: An implementation of DevOps

Abstract GitOps is a prescriptive way of implementing DevOps. You will not succeed in using GitOps if you haven’t embraced some DevOps philosophies along the way. In this talk, we’ll look at the GitOps Principles and see how they align to existing or new DevOps/SRE functions. GitOps, being a wonderful implementation of DevOps functionality in cloud native environments and beyond, will enable organizations to prescriptively shift left, improve release velocity, and hopefully reap all the other benefits that higher performers in the State of DevOps reports see....

January 6, 2021 · 1 min · Chris Short

2020 Learnings, 2021 Expectations

We’ve all had challenging years before. However, none were quite as challenging as in 2020. In the conclusion of last year’s post, I wrote, “I am hopeful that whatever economic upheaval we face as a society in 2020 is limited.” At that time, economic indicators were bubble-ish. However, a global pandemic was not something I had in the cards. No one did. A global pandemic, international protests against horrific injustices, and a US government damn near inept at helping with any of it....

December 30, 2020 · 16 min · Chris Short

Security at Cloud Native Speed

Abstract Cloud native technologies are increasingly used by organizations to provide a competitive advantage. Containers and Kubernetes jumpstart developer productivity but, they could increase security teams’ workloads. Threat vectors span cloud providers, control planes, developer tooling, and applications in environment hybrid environments. Use these technologies and cultures to improve security and reduce blast radius while improving velocity. This talk will analyze human tendencies and provide tips to improve security postures in cloud native environments....

November 7, 2019 · 3 min · Chris Short

Lessons Learned from Cloud Migrations: Planning is Everything

Abstract “Migrating to the cloud saves money!” “Not running your own infrastructure reduces your bottom line!” “Lift and shift is a legitimate first step towards moving to the cloud!” These are all potential pitfalls if you’re not careful. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Using a real chaotic cloud migration as a guide, we’ll walk through the pitfalls of cloud migrations and how to avoid them and the terrifying vendor lock-in (when it makes sense)....

March 7, 2018 · 3 min · Chris Short

DevOps is Not War

Abstract Over the past 500 years, there have been 16 cases of a rising power threatening to displace a ruling power. 75% of those cases resulted in war. Although your organizational transformation probably won’t lead to war, it could be contentious. History can help prevent conflict when driving change. This talk will analyze human tendencies, historical data, and provide real-world examples of how to avoid conflict during your DevOps journey....

March 2, 2018 · 6 min · Chris Short